Ronald Reagan in Young Guns, by Rep. Paul Ryan, Rep. Eric Cantor & Rep. Kevin McCarthy


On Government Reform: Not intention to do away with government; but make it work

Some critics portray the choice we face in 2010 as between government and no government; between a life of safety and security in the nanny state and a nasty, brutish, and short life. In doing so, they employ raw fear in order to persuade us to accept a powerful state.

But the American people aren't children, and the choice before us isn't one of security versus insecurity, or safety versus fear. We are offering Americans the same choice as Ronald Reagan did more than a quarter century ago when he said: "It is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work--work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it."

This fundamental choice has been debated in the name of many different things over the past year & a half: health-care reform, energy policy, economic policy, housing policy. But ultimately it's a debate about what kind of country we want to have.

Source: Young Guns, by Reps. Ryan, Cantor & McCarthy, p.113 Sep 14, 2010

The above quotations are from Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders,
by Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy.
Click here for other excerpts from Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders,
by Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy
.
Click here for other excerpts by Ronald Reagan.
Click here for a profile of Ronald Reagan.
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